Unknown input observer design and analysis for networked control systems

The insertion of communication networks in the feedback loops of control systems is a defining feature of modern control systems. These systems are often subject to unknown inputs in a form of disturbances, perturbations, or attacks. The objective of this paper is to design and analyze an observer for networked dynamical systems with unknown inputs. The network effect can be viewed as either a perturbation or time-delay to the exchanged signals. In this paper, we (a) review an Unknown Input Observer (UIO) design for non-networked system, (b) derive the Networked Unknown Input Observer (NetUIO) dynamics, (c) design a NetUIO such that the effect of higher delay order terms are nullified and (d) establish stability-guaranteeing bounds on the networked-induced time-delay and perturbation. The formulation and results derived in this paper can be generalized to scenarios and applications where the signals are perturbed due to a different source of perturbation or delay. Keywords—Networked Control Systems, Unknown Input Observers, NetUIO, Time-Delay Systems.